Gaming briefs for Oct. 14, 2003

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003 | 10:53 a.m.

Restaurant settles suit over energy drink

Drai's On The Strip, a high-end restaurant at the Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, has settled a federal lawsuit with Red Bull North America and Red Bull GMBH LLC in which Red Bull alleged that the restaurant routinely "passed off" substitute drinks to customers who ordered the Red Bull energy drink.

The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in January 2002 after Red Bull officials and private investigators allegedly found bartenders at Drai's On The Strip serving drinks that had the energy drink Pure NRG in place of Red Bull, the lawsuit said. Red Bull has also reached settlements in similar lawsuits with M Restaurant and Lounge in Philadelphia and with Centrofly in New York.

The lawsuit against Drai's alleges that the restaurant engaged in unfair competition, trademark infringement, counterfeiting, dilution, tarnishment and unjust enrichment. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount of money, said Ike Lawrence Epstein, an attorney representing Drai's.

Drai's has said the suit stems from a dispute over cost with Red Bull that caused the restaurant to stop using the product. The restaurant said it educated its bartenders and food servers that they were not to pass off Pure NRG as Red Bull and tabletop signs were posted in order to inform customers that the restaurant doesn't carry Red Bull.

Epstein said there are no plans for Drai's to sell Red Bull again.

"Drai's will continue to advise any customer that asks for Red Bull that they no longer serve that product and they do have an alternative energy drink," he said.

Record sums spent on video lottery amendment vote

DENVER -- Amendment 33, which proposes putting video lottery machines at dog and horse tracks, has become the most expensive ballot initiative in state history.

Supporters and opponents of the measure have raised a total of more than $7.8 million to make their case, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday.

The previous fund-raising record of $6.6 million was set in 2000 over the unsuccessful Amendment 24, which sought to impose certain growth controls on development.

Proceeds from the video lottery games would be used for open space, parks and tourism promotion.

But opponents, including mountain casinos that have raised about $3.1 million to oppose the measure, say the proposal would lure visitors away from casinos.

They say some proceeds from the lottery machines would go to five racetracks, four of which are owned by London-based Wembley Inc.

Video lottery would also be allowed in casinos.

"With the opposition's distortion of the truth about Amendment 33 in order to protect their casino profits, we have to spend money to get out the truth," said Lynea Hanson, spokeswoman for Support Colorado's Economy and Environment, the group supporting the plan. "Amendment 33 is about getting our economy back on track by promoting tourism, our second-largest industry."

Opponents say Wembley, an international gambling titan, is bankrolling nearly all the $4.7 million supporters have raised and that two of the Wembley's top officials are under a federal indictment in Rhode Island alleging bribery.

"I think that (when) you have an organization pledging to their stockholders that they're going to spend $10 million in an election in Colorado, then the people who oppose it have to sit up and pay attention," said Katy Atkinson, spokeswoman for Don't Turn Race Tracks into Casinos.

Among other ballot initiatives, the pro-Referendum A group, Save Colorado's Water, raised about _$131,000 in the past two weeks to bring its total to _$668,000 in support of the _$2 billion water bonding program.

The fund-raising was bolstered by _$25,000 donations each from Forest City Stapleton Inc., Philip Morris USA and the Colorado Water Partnership, a collection of water-starved metro cities.

Campaign finance reports for the Vote No on A campaign were to be filed Wednesday. Unofficial totals show the group raising about _$30,000 during the reporting period, bringing its total to _$94,000.

Anti-tax activist Douglas Bruce filed a campaign finance complaint with the Colorado secretary of state's office on Monday, saying Save Colorado's Water didn't fully disclose the source of all its money.

Bruce also has argued that Citizens for Property Tax Reform, which has raised about _$66,000 in loans for a residential property tax reform initiative, is barred by campaign finance laws from taking loans.